Dawn Rye | Writer

Scammers are expected to steal over $2 billion in 2021. Some key points to remember, a scammer often creates a sense of urgency that bypasses a person’s better judgment or asks them to purchases gift cards. If a person thinks the payment feels fishy, it’s probably a scam. 

Recently, the Turner County Sheriff’s Office received a call stating someone was using their fax number to impersonate a law firm. The caller also noted that the law firm said they were coming to her residence if she didn’t address or check the account number.

Sheriff Steven Luke explained that a common scam is that scammers use a computer attached to a spoofing device to make it appear like a local phone number is calling. Once the caller realized that the scammer wasn’t in Florida and he wasn’t going to come to arrest the caller, that’s when they notified the sheriff’s office. Luke said law enforcement would never ask for banking information, social security numbers, or private information over the phone. 

“If you live in the county, we probably already know where you live anyway,” commented Luke. 

When a local number appears on a phone asking for personal information, hang up immediately and contact the legitimate phone number. 

Some other scams include scammers posing as relatives or friends, calling or sending messages to send money to get out of jail or pay a hospital bill. People are warned to never give out personal information, as scammer’s goal is to get away with the fraud before anyone realizes what’s happening. 

Luke said the lottery scam is another common scam. A lottery scam is a type of advance fee fraud that begins with an unexpected phone call explaining that “You have won!” a large sum of money in a lottery. 

He noted that if the idea behind the phone call or email asks for money upfront, it’s a scam. So, either hang up and call a legitimate phone number or delete the email.